I
congratulate the President of The Gambia and the Gambians once again for
holding and thrusting stronger and together after a threshold election.
The
recently conducted Presidential and Parliamentary elections must have
challenged and overstretched your agencies, but we thank ALLAH for the
successes and smooth transitions at all levels.
One
very victory that so excited and challenged global democratic aspirations was
the nomination of a physically challenged woman in The Gambia.
This
has become the widest showcase and exhibition for democratic liberty, justice
and fairness. In this life, everyone has a right to elect and be elected, a
right to vote and be voted for. ALLAH AKBAR, the very one that delivered us
recently from the den of Lion, will be there for this country till the very
end.
The
past elections in The Gambia, and the long stint of the former President in
office, aided in producing over 300 500 stateless combatants, dangerous men
with illegal weapons who might pose a frightening threat to the national
security.
Myriad
of the Arab Springs and their attendant unrests swung open the various prisons
and jails in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Lebanon
and emptied into our various streets and homes hardened criminals, as there was
no country in the face of this world that didn’t get her share of these
dangerous men, women and youths.
These
existing hordes of deadly proxies and their undocumented arms must be
monitored, controlled and regulated by a new regulatory agency. This is very
urgent as your regime settles down, and it is the dare urgency of this need
that necessitated my writing. The level of influence and audacity of the past
regime in all sectors of your agencies can not be watered down with kids’ gloves.
You will need an instant identification, analysis, review and profile of
persons, bodies and agencies as quick as possible to identity your real dogs
(security phrase) to depict friendship and loyalty.
The
task looks herculean but achievable, and everything will depend on what you are
bringing into governance. Ensure that only your very loyal professionals are
engaged, especially in core critical crime positions.
Appointing
someone to an office is a lot easier, but removing him from such position
elicits reactions, resistance and condemnations, not only from him but also
from his entire family and constituency.
The
Gambia on the global tourism scale leads in the Africa tourism race. The
country plays yearly host to an average Western tourists of one million or
above. Random statistics shows that a total of 6 million, both the African and
Western tourists, process through their immigration system yearly, and accounts
for forty per cent of the total GDP.
The
recent fall of other tourism safe heavens like Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia,
Algeria and Ivory Coast has further heightened prospect for more Western
tourists to The Gambia in years to come. All efforts therefore must be made to
ensure the protection and preservation of the tourism sectors, especially
ensuring that these tourists and their undertakers are forever unharmed.
I
was in England when the last batches of Thomas Cook, British tourists, were
brought back through Manchester in December 2017. I recall this was only
precipitated by the minor refusal of President Jammeh to relinquish power to an
elected President; no war, no conflict or terror attack, yet BBC glued their
cameras focusing on this simple evacuation with so much publicity, which
treated the whole world with media extravaganza.
I
will end this with a quote from the American Ambassador to The Gambia. Last
year during a workshop he had this to say: extremism will surely be experienced
in The Gambia; it’s only a matter of time.
In
my post-graduate studies in England, I x-rayed Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaida, the
Taliban and LTTE of Sri Lanka as case studies, 1, 2, 3 and 4. From what I know
and researched about these deadly enemies, The Gambia needs to urgently adjust
her parameters to handle the movements of these enemies and the illegal weapons
they might want to brandish.
Our
airports, presidential fleets, maritime environments and VIPs’ security and
protection would come under focal points and priority attention.
With
the hurried and shameful departure of President Jammeh, and the manner of
political coalition that dethroned him, and appointment into various offices by
professionals from different backgrounds and visions, security must be a key
element in the cardinal programmes of the current tenants of power. As The
Gambia goes about these reforms, Africans are fervently praying for the
country, that the Gambians will succeed and smile again.
Dr
Ifedimma Joseph Sunny Moneke, PhD, Researched Counterterrorism Expert,
Manchester, England.
